Along Came a Spider
by venom3650
Summary: He thought that he had changed, that he had seen the light. A ninja was more than a tool to be used, that's what he believed. He didn't realize that the only thing that had changed was the person using the tool that was Uzumaki Naruto.
1. Along Came a Spider

The day his captain had so foolishly sacrificed so much for the sake of peace and the village that he loved so dearly was the day that Naruto Uzumaki's life began to fall apart.

Naught but days after that fateful night he was promoted to squad captain to fill the void left by his captain, Itachi Uchiha.

At the tender age of nine, just a year after becoming a captain, the young blond was once again promoted to ANBU general, placing him in nearly supreme control of Konoha's most elite ninja core, subordinate only to the Hokage himself.

Naruto continued to serve Konoha for another year, taking part in some of the most sensitive missions in the world, and he always delivered. Not a single mission was failed, nor a single man lost when he was present, and as such he very quickly gained a reputation amongst the ANBU (and only the ANBU, as normal ninja were not privy to the going ons of such a secretive unit) for being cunning, ruthlessly efficient, and most of all for being terrifyingly powerful.

But even while reaching the very peaks of strength, possibly even surpassing the Hokage himself in pure combat ability, the young boy's mind had been in turmoil ever since his captain had left the village.

He wondered why. Why had the ANBU not been called to deal with the traitorous Uchiha Clan? Why had the Hokage, a man he had admired and respected, condoned such missteps in logic? Most importantly, why had his beloved captain been so willing to throw away his life and future, all for his comparatively talentless brother?

Naruto had held a very large amount of animosity towards Sasuke Uchiha, consciously or unconsciously is unknown. Regardless of that fact, whenever Naruto came across Sasuke, he couldn't help but think of Itachi, and how he had lost the man he had loved more than anything, in his place this pathetic, talentless boy.

Finally, in the summer of his tenth year, he cracked. He attempted to hand in his resignation, but when it denied, he gathered his things and left in the dead of night.

When it was discovered that he has deserted later that morning a massive man hunt ensued, with nearly every member of the Hunter Corps sent in search of the blond.

However, the search was soon called off when one the most combat capable squads in the corps was utterly decimated. No one in the squad was killed, or even permanently crippled, but the squad reported that they had powerless to stop a mere child.

This compelled the Hokage to not only call off the search, but also to place Naruto in the Bingo Book with an order to flee on sight, the second such order any major village had given for any ninja.

Without anyone trying to impede his progress Naruto peacefully roamed the land for another two years before being contacted by none other than Itachi.

His old captain had requested that he return to Konoha, covertly or otherwise, and protect his younger brother. From whom exactly, the man did not say, though Naruto had some ideas.

The blond didn't enjoy the idea of returning to his home village, especially if it was just to babysit some brat with a chip on his shoulder, but he would have gladly gone to hell and back for his captain, and so we find our hero in Konoha, making preparations to become Sasuke Uchiha's guardian angel.

**Haven't even looked at this account in years, but I'm incredibly curious to see what the community thinks of this. Flames will is ignored, constructive criticism is appreciated, and questions will most likely be responded to provided the asker is using an account. **

**I make no promises as to whether or not I will upload anymore, as I write primarily for myself and a close friend, but if response to this prologue is generally positive then there's a good chance I will upload anything I write. **

**On a side note, please, _please_ don't review with a simple "good chapter" or "update soon", I fucking hate that. If you like the story enough to be compelled to review, at least include something in specific that you liked about it. If you can't be bothered to write something intelligent, don't write anything at all.**


	2. Dragontown

Naruto weaved through the crowds of Konoha's central market plaza with a grace that only the most experienced of ninja ever achieved, not that the untrained eyes of merchants and civilians recognized this.

He was making his way towards a small, unassuming shop on the very edges of the plaza by the name of Yamashiro's custom weapons. True to the name, Yamashiro ran a custom weapons and armor shop; however it wasn't just _any _custom shop. Yamashiro's shop was one of only a dozen such shops that provided weapons and armor to the ANBU, and of those dozen shops Yamashiro's was easily the best. Of course, that particular piece of information wasn't exactly common knowledge, even amongst the ANBU, but Naruto was far from common.

As Naruto entered the dinky shop, both his eyes and nose were quickly assaulted by the foul conditions of the shop.

The place reeked of sweat, rotting food that smelled as though it had been left out for week, water damage, and most of all, booze.

It didn't look much better, either. Various molds of all colors grew on the ceiling, numerous puke colored stains coated the ancient looking carpet, and a black tarp covered a shattered window that was undoubtedly the result of the recent invasion.

His stoic face betraying none of the disgust he felt, the blond approached the counter. As he came closer, the middle aged man behind the granite counter looked up from what appeared to be one of the smut novels that his old seal mentor, Jiraiya, wrote.

"Welcome to Yamashiro's customs shop, how can I help you?" he groaned out tiredly.

"I need a chakra conductive ANBU katana, the best you can make, and a standard-issue ANBU cloak, black and without any markings of affiliation." Naruto answered without missing a beat.

The man, Yamashiro, didn't immediately say anything, instead opting to eye the blond with well-disguised suspicion, not that the aging man was not completely transparent to the young man, but it probably would have fooled many lesser ninja.

"Alright...sorry kid, but I'm going to need some authorization before I make that stuff." the man spoke in a bored drawl, broadcasting that he wasn't really sorry at all.

Naruto calculated his next move for but a fraction of a second before deciding on the most prudent course of action.

With no outward movement, Naruto quickly placed a subtle but powerful illusion over the man, creating a small voice in the back of the man's mind that told him to overlook the lack of authorization just this once.

Having placed the illusion on the man, Naruto began to put on a show.

"Oh, I see. I apologize for wasting your time. Would you be so kind as to point me in the direction of other customs shops?" He suggested subtly.

Yamashiro silently considered his options. On the one hand, this kid didn't have any kind of authorization from the Hokage's advisers so if he DID do this order, and word somehow got back to the advisers that he had been the one to supply the boy with the equipment he would be ruined, if not executed outright.

But on the other hand, this order was worth a hefty sum, easily enough for him to live off of for months, and he certainly didn't want that kind of money going to his competition. Besides, how much trouble could one kid get into?

"Alright," he acquiesced, "I'll make the stuff, but you can't tell anyone that you got this stuff from me."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Of course."

Ringing up the order, Yamashiro blinked. It seemed that this order was worth even more than he thought. "That's quite the order, you sure you can afford it?"

"I'm sure." Naruto replied dispassionately.

"Alright..." The man could barely contain his smirk. "This is going to cost about 200 ryo (30,000$), give or take."

To the man's slight surprise, the blond remained completely unperturbed. "A fair price for such high quality work. When will it be ready?"

Yamashiro briefly considered the many variables that would affect completion time before replying. "Probably about a week, we don't have many of the necessary materials in stock right now. Business is booming, you see."

"Of course." Naruto replied. Even if Yamashiro didn't say anything directly, Naruto knew what he was implying. After the failed invasion and murdering of the current Hokage, it was more than a little likely that not just the ANBU, but also elite ninja and perhaps even journeyman ninja were gearing up for war.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

As Naruto exited the shop, he pondered his next move. He had already created a shadow clone to observe and monitor Sasuke, so as long as the brat didn't do anything extraordinarily stupid in the next week, Naruto could keep his charge safe. The blond really did not want to have to deal with a threat that required his direct intervention without any proper equipment.

There a few things he needed to do to get himself properly settled in Konoha and remain under the radar: He needed to find his old apartment, as it had been abandoned shortly after his desertion, only the ingenuity of his various contacts in Konoha kept the complex from being torn down.

He also needed to gain the support of at least some political entities in the event that he was apprehended by Konoha. He wasn't exactly sure what the best way to approach that particular problem was yet, but he was leaning towards blackmail.

The blond opted to head to his old apartment. He no longer had the key, but that wouldn't be a problem.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

As Naruto approached the complex, he was struck by just how run down the building was. Sure, it wasn't exactly in pristine condition when he had lived there, but the building was still in unusually poor condition for a mere two years of neglect. Perhaps the complex wasn't as empty as he had been lead to believe?

With the thought of an unknown number of enemies at the front of his mind, Naruto approached silently. It had taken the blond nearly the entire day to make his way to the complex, and as such his approach was further added by the rapid onset of the night.

As he came upon the front entrance, he found that the door had been left unlocked, lending further credibility to the theory that some unwanted guests had taken refuge in the building.

Entering the complex, Naruto quickly scanned his surrounds. While nobody was in that particular area, the aging building was quite large, and the assortment of cheap liquor bottles, cigarette butts, and the empty packs of said cigarettes all but confirmed the presence of intruders.

Summoning up ten shadow clones several clones, he mentally gave them their orders. _'Fan out, search the building for any hostiles and eliminate them, but keep it quiet'_.

Naruto and his clones leapt high upwards, using their chakra to stick their hands and feet to the ceiling, allowing them to crawl along undetected.

As he silently crawled along, the original Naruto quickly inscribed a simple sound proofing seal onto the ceiling. With the seal in place, not a single sound would escape the complex, leaving anyone passing by completely oblivious to any possible violence going on inside.

Having completed the seal, Naruto continued scouting. He quickly picked up the laughter and noise of a party coming from a nearby apartment.

Leaping down from the ceiling noiselessly, Naruto slowly attempted to turn the knob, only to find that the door was locked.

Briefly mulling over his options, he decided to simply break the door down. Channeling a fairly large amount of chakra to his fist, he punched the door, releasing all the chakra in his hand as it connected with the door. The effect was instantaneous. With a mighty crash the door gave way, flying off its hinges and impacting the opposite wall.

Wasting no time, Naruto stormed inside. He quickly dodged a sloppy swipe by a thug with a switchblade. Grabbing the thug's wrist, Naruto turned into the man, tossing the thug over his shoulder, and then delivered a crushing boot to the poor man's face. With a sickening crunch the man's skull caved in, killing him instantly.

Letting go of the man's wrist, Naruto leapt back a few feet and scanned the room. Counting four hostiles, he quickly bent down and discreetly pocketed the dead man's switchblade. As he did this, the room's occupants recovered from the shock of seeing their comrade utterly demolished by a boy no older than thirteen.

Intent on avenging their buddy, the delinquents drew their various weapons, ranging from throwing knives to samurai swords, and charged at the boy. There was no way he could take all of them, after all.

Naruto deftly leapt above a bat and delivered a vicious superman punch to the man's jaw faster than the eye could follow, sending the man stumbling back a few feet. Not willing to let such a huge opening go unpunished, Naruto swept the man off of his feet with a low kick to his legs.

However, before he could finish the degenerate off, his finely tuned battle instincts screamed at him to move, and he quickly dodged a one handed swing of a rusty katana. Grabbing the offending arm, Naruto forced it behind the man, causing him to bend over. Naruto then delivered a bone shattering knee to the man's face in a split second. The man was dead before he hit the ground.

By this time the thug that Naruto had originally targeted had gotten to his feet, dizzy though he was, and attempted to finish the blond off by swinging his bat like an axe over Naruto's head. The effort was in vain, however, as Naruto spun around and was inside his guard before he could react.

Quicker than the man's eyes could follow, Naruto had grabbed under his arm and deposited the switchblade he had taken earlier into the man's armpit, burying the blade to the hilt. Before he could even scream in pain Naruto had put both hands on the back of his neck and roughly pulled the man's head down...right into Naruto's chakra filled knee. As the two collided Naruto released the chakra, smashing the man's head like a grape in a fountain of blood.

Not even stopping to spare a thought for the man whose life he had just taken, Naruto turned sharply on the balls of his foot, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick to a third man's arm with his other leg. The thug stopped his assault in pain as he felt the kick crack the bones in his arm. As he yowled in pain Naruto let out a lightning fast jab to the man's face, eliciting a satisfying crunch as the man's nose broke.

The man recoiled back in agony as he clutched his bleeding nose, but Naruto didn't let up the assault. Sending another roundhouse kick, this time charged with chakra, into the thug's now unprotected ribcage, destroying it utterly and sending numerous bone fragments throughout the rest of the thug's body, killing him.

Having disposed of the room's three other occupants, Naruto's impassive blue eyes landed on the only other person still alive.

The man simply looked on, paralyzed with fear after seeing his three comrades slain with such ease and speed. As Naruto came closer, the thug dropped to his knees, discarded his butcher blade, and clasped his hands together.

"P-please don't kill me!" he stuttered out.

Naruto stopped mere feet away from the sniveling man. His cold ocean blue eyes looked upon unblinkingly. "What crimes have you committed?"

The man looked up in fear. "W-what?" he asked.

"Answer the question." Naruto replied shortly, his voice betraying nothing.

"Just some petty thefts, I swear!" The man couldn't stop shaking.

Not detecting any falsehood in the man's voice, Naruto eyed him stoically. This man was no better than swine, and Naruto did not doubt that he would not have a problem ruining the life of another if it suited his purposes.

But when he was in the ANBU he saw the very same look that this man had now, the look of someone who knew that their life was in the hands of another, and while in the ANBU every time he saw someone that look, a pang of guilt and pity ran through him, for not once did the poor fools realize that their fate had already been decided, and just once Naruto had wanted to be able to spare one of those fools.

And just such a choice presented itself to him, and in that moment, Naruto saw in the man, the disgusting pig of a man, the father who had charged at him despite the obvious fear he had felt, he saw the mother who had begged for him to let her son go if nothing else, he saw the child crying over his dead mother, no longer caring about the world around him, and in that moment, Naruto made his choice.

"Go." he commanded, "Leave this place. I don't care where you go but if I ever see you again I'll kill you."

The man nodded rapidly and then sprinted down the hallway towards the main entrance.

Naruto surveyed the carnage he had wrought without passion. Without a sound he created yet another shadow clone, ordering him to begin disposing of any traces of the bodies.

Taking a seat on what looked to be the least ruined piece of furniture in the room Naruto silently contemplated his next move, his mind barely registering the faint smell of smoke and burning flesh his powerful nose detected as the bodies of his victims burned.


	3. A Brutal Planet

Naruto woke blearily from his short slumber. His enhanced body needed little sleep, primarily as a result of tampering with the Nine-Tailed Fox's seal. However, despite his super human capabilities he still was not a morning person, and he very much forced his muscles to begin working once more.

As he rose from the chair he had slept in Naruto surveyed his surroundings, and the events of the previous night came rushing back to him in full detail.

He was still in the room in which he had dispatched those petty thugs, though any trace of their existence had been thoroughly removed. The room itself, however, was still comprised largely of decaying filth of various kinds.

That would have to be remedied.

Calling up chakra from his reserves the blond summoned eight shadows clones and ordered them to begin repairing the room. It would serve as well as any of the other rooms in the now empty complex as a base of operations. If all went according to plan he would have the room up and running in a matter of hours.

Naruto exited the room and began to make his way towards the exit. He had decided that it would be wise to gain the support of various political factions as quickly as possible, but he lacked some of the supplies to do so, namely the materials needed to create complex seals, so he was off to procure said supplies.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Uchiha Sasuke grunted in exertion as he continued his morning exercise under the watchful eye of his teacher, Hatake Kakashi.

His training regimen had only become more intense after the exams, largely as a result of his old teammate Sakura dying during the preliminaries, killed by Sand's jinchuuruki. He wasn't particularly distraught by her death. The girl was a pathetic excuse for a ninja.

Despite what the girl had wanted to believe, they had never been particularly close, even after being assigned to the same team after leaving the academy. They were short one team member, so often times they were simply added on to teams that needed an extra member or two. They really only met in order to train. Not much of a team in his opinion.

In Sasuke's opinion, she shouldn't even have been allowed to graduate the academy. She was mediocre at best. If the idiotic girl had spent half as much time working to improve herself as she did on her hair, maybe -_maybe- _she would have been a passable ninja. But she didn't. Instead, she wore _bright red_ dresses on missions, did nothing to disguise her pink hair, screeched like a banshee even when they were supposed be stealthy, and all-around brought shame to the title of ninja. Sometimes Sasuke wondered if she did it on purpose; he found it hard to believe that anybody could be so absolutely bad at their chosen profession.

Of course, with Sakura gone, Kakashi had devoted all of his attention to Sasuke, and he suspected that Sakura's death had galvanized Kakashi into taking his training very seriously. It was ironic that the only thing the girl had ever done that was at all helpful to him was to die.

As a result, Sasuke's already impressive rate of growth shot through the roof, and already there were whispers that it would not be 3 years before he was made an elite ninja. Such an astounding level of improvement did not come simply from laying about and taking things easy, and so Sasuke continued to meet and surpass Kakashi's expectations, even as his soul fell deeper and deeper into the black abyss of hatred.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

After having walked leisurely towards the foremost seal shop in the village for about an hour Naruto had come to the conclusion that apart from the structural damage from the invasion, not much had changed in the years he had been gone. That same food stall with half of the produce already expired was still on the northern edge of the plaza, with the same dinky little barber shop a little beyond it. The same horrid stench wafted from the same horrid butcher shop on his left as he passed near it. Hell, it seemed like only thing that HAD changed were the two Journeymen who watched the main gate. It sickened him to think that any place could be so monotonous.

Pushing such inconsequential musing from his mind, Naruto pushed open the door to the seal shop. It was a small but well kept place owned by a husband and wife by the names of Akihiro and Kazue Sato. He knew them well, as this was where he and his old mentor Jiraiya had attained many of the sealing supplies they needed.

He did not worry about possibly being recognized by the middle-aged couple. He had a perfect transformation placed over himself, causing him to appear as a 5' 7" male with short brown hair. His standard issue Journeyman combat vest and forehead protector would probably be enough to fool just about anyone not actively looking for him, and certainly enough to fool the untrained eyes of two civilians.

"Ah, welcome to Akihiro's Seal Supplies!" a chipper, masculine voice called from the back room.

"Good morning!" Naruto called back with equal gaiety as he approached the counter.

As he neared his destination a large, burly man came out from the back room. "Ah, it always warms my heart to see a Journeyman with an interest in the art of sealing. Too few ninjas practice it these days..." the man sighed heavily.

"I hear ya'. Nobody wants to put any effort into learning practical skills anymore. They're all too busy trying to learn as many flashy ninja techniques as they can. Oh well, at least I can get the seal masters to myself." They shared a laugh.

Akihiro placed both elbows on the counter as he spoke. "Now then, what can I do for you, young man?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, I lost all of my old stuff, so I need just about everything!"

The older, larger man laughed jovially. "Oh well, I can't say I mind. Maybe this will teach you a lesson about taking better care of your equipment."

The blond gave a perfectly proportioned, perfectly fake smile. "Yeah, I hope so. This is gonna cost me a fortune..." He sighed ever so slightly.

Akihiro raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Oh really? What did you have in mind?"

Naruto pasted on a practiced look of thoughtfulness. "Well, I need twenty sheets of vellum, plain white preferably. I also need three vials of your finest black ink, three brushes, and an ANBU grade satchel, if you have any."

Akihiro did little to hide his surprise. "That's some awfully advanced gear for a ninja of your rank. No offense."

"Well, what can I say? I'm an awfully advanced ninja for my rank." Naruto said with a smirk.

The middle-aged man chuckled as he finished wringing up the order. "Fair enough, I suppose. That'll be 3 ryo, please."

Naruto handed him the money. "Alright, give me one moment while I get the stuff out of the back."

As Naruto waited, he heard the door to the shop opening up. Glancing over to see who it was, the blond, despite his training, felt the tendrils of panic attempt to take hold before they were ruthlessly beaten back.

There, standing in the door way, was one of his old mentors, Jiraiya.

Naruto cursed his luck. Of all of the people in the village who could have walked into the shop for the ten minutes that he was there, it just had to be perhaps the one person who could possibly see through Naruto's disguise, and maybe even kill him if it came to that.

Naruto discreetly observed Jiraiya, putting his reconnaissance and espionage to good use. The hulking man did not seem any more on edge than the blond had known him to be. Indeed, he seemed to simply be browsing the shelves while he waited for Akihiro returned from the back of the store.

A thought suddenly jolted to the forefront of Naruto's mind. _Akihiro! _What was he going to do? There was no way he could think of to escape the situation without drawing suspicion to himself. When Akihiro came back with all of those advanced supplies it was undoubtedly going to pique the sanin's curiosity, and if he became suspicious, he might detect the transformation, and then from there things would go straight to hell.

He couldn't use any techniques with Jiraiya standing not ten feet away from him. That was probably the worst possible thing he could do, and in a worst case scenario Jiraiya would outright attack him.

Outright denial, or leaving before Akihiro came back was also not an option. His mentor would undoubtedly make the connection between his arrival and the beginning of the blond's erratic behavior.

He was in a rock and a hard place, but there was no more time to deliberate; Akihiro was back. "Here you go young man. Twenty sheets of vellum, plain white, three vials of our finest black ink, three brushes, and an ANBU grade satchel. Is that everything?"

Naruto resisted the incredible urge to wince at how incredibly _bad _that was going to be for his cover. The damn fool just could not his mouth shut. "Nope, that's it! Thanks, man." He picked up the bag full of his sealing supplies and prepared to walk out the door when a voice stopped him.

"Those are some pretty high quality materials for a young man like yourself." Damn it...

Naruto stopped and turned around to face the much taller Jiraiya. "Why does everyone always say that?" Naruto asked rhetorically with a small laugh. "Yeah, they are, but I'm a big sealing buff, and I live a pretty spartan lifestyle, so I save up pretty fast. Plus my teammate covered part of the bill after he trashed my last set."

"Oh, that makes sense. Do you have a teacher?" Jiraiya's expression told Naruto that the old man was merely curious.

Naruto gave his old mentor a prideful grin. "Nah, I'm self-taught. I mean, I've asked people I could get a hold of about things I was having a problem with, but other than that I taught myself, with the help of books like yours, Jiraiya-sama."

The sage gave a big grin of his own. "Always happy to help a newbie sealer off the ground."

Naruto decided it was time to make his move. He bid farewell to bigger man, and began to make his way to the door. As he was about to push it open though, he stopped and turned back to the sage. "Er, Jiraiya-sama?"

"Yes?"

"I'm a big fan of your Make Out Paradise series...but I don't have a copy for you to sign on me..." He knew this would work. He had seen the dunce do it before.

Jiraiya's face sported a huge, amused grin. He laughed heartily. "I just _knew _you were a fan! I don't think I've ever met someone that read my books on sealing without having read the Make Out Paradise series."

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a pen and copy of the first book in the series. "Not to worry!" he said as he clicked down on the pen, "I always keep a copy on me for just this situation!"

As Naruto took the now autographed book he bowed to Jiraiya. "Thank you very much, Jiraiya-sama! This is a dream come true!" he stared down at the signature with awe.

The bigger man placed his hands on his hips and puffed his chest out as he laughed. "No problem kiddo! Keep working on those seals!"

Naruto gave a farewell and left the shop.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

As Naruto opened the door to the now clean room, the first thing he did was throw the autographed copy of make out paradise in the nearby garbage bin.

Dropping the transformation, he sat down on the newly acquired chair and observed the room. What had been a pigsty not two and a half hours ago was now a livable home, or so the memories given to him by his clones told him.

At the center of the room where he now sat was a small, rounded table with two chairs opposite each other. A few feet to the right of the table was a small kitchen with a few pots and pans and small but stocked fridge.

There was no power flowing to the apartment from the city generators, but instead the clones had installed a rudimentary power system using seals charged with lightning chakra. It would have to be recharged periodically, but that wouldn't be a problem. It didn't allow for huge use of electricity. There was really only enough to power the fridge, oven, and a few light bulbs.

Behind the table and to the left of the kitchen was a small, unlit hallway with a single doorway on the left side at the end. The doorway entered into a small, sparse bedroom. In the bedroom there was just a bed hugging the right wall, a nightstand, a single bulb and chain hanging from the ceiling.

After mentally mapping out the apartment Naruto pondered his next move. He was reasonably certain he had escaped Jiraiya's suspicion, but he would still be wary of the man. The encounter with the sage had been largely unavoidable, but it would be unacceptable for such a close call to occur again.

Then there was the matter of gaining some political leverage. He already had an idea of who his targets were. Yamanaka Inoichi had been the head of the Torture and Interrogation unit when Naruto had first deserted, though he was no longer sure if this was the case. Even if someone else had taken over for him, Naruto was certain had still had strong ties to the unit. That combined with the fact that the man was a clan head made him a perfect target.

The ANBU were also on his list. He was something of a legend there. While it was true that most of them were loyal to the Hokage first and foremost, the most influential members were now undoubtedly his former squad mates, due to the unofficial hierarchy of the ANBU, based primarily on seniority. In addition to the friends in high places, the Hokage that had commanded the ANBU since before a lot of its current members were even born was now dead. They may have been loyal to the Hokage, but that loyalty was easier to overcome when they had no face to attach it to.

There were, of course, factions that he needed to be cautious of, some more than others.

Danzo's Root operatives were one such faction. There was no possibility of his gaining any leverage from him or any of his subordinates. He was not particularly worried about the chance of a direct attack, the likelihood of any realistic number of men being capable of bringing him down quietly was nil. However, there was a far stronger possibility of them sabotaging his plans in a less direct way if Danzo caught wind of his return.

Jiraiya, and to a lesser extent his network of spies, were another one to watch out for. He held no illusions of just how vast said network was, or how incredibly capable their boss was. Nowhere in Fire Country would he be able to completely escape all possibility of detection if Jiraiya deemed him a true threat. Beyond that, the man himself was entirely capable of outright killing Naruto. It wouldn't be easy, nor would it necessarily happen if the two met in combat, but no matter what, the outcome of such a confrontation would not be to his advantage.

The big one to look out for would be the next Hokage, however. In addition to having the entire village in his or her control, the Hokage would also have access to Jiraiya's network. If he truly roused the Hokage's ire, he would have the ANBU, numerous elite ninja, _and _Jiraiya's spies all going for him to some degree. If that happened he would have no choice to flee, and if he fled he failed.

Naruto continued to ponder even as the sun began to set, and day turned into night.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Naruto sighed as he placed his sealing supplies back into his bag. As he did so he scanned the seal on the bare back of an unconscious Yamanaka Ino, checking it for flaws. _'Perfect, as always.' _

He hated seals like these. Sealing was capable of so much good, of so many miracles and of so many fantastic things. Yet, despite that, here he was misusing it for such a cruel purpose. The seal was designed so that if he willed it, if he died, or if it was tampered with, the seal would magnify the gravity affecting the girl by many thousands of time. It would likely crush every bone into dust, and every organ into a liquid.

He pitied the girl, and her soon to be informed father. They were both unwilling participants in something much bigger than either of them. They were never asked for their consent, nor would they. Naruto could sympathize, and he hated knowing that he was the reason they were being dragged into this. With any luck though, the girl would remain ignorant of the grave danger she was now in.

The seal disappeared from view as Naruto completed the binding process. Silently, he placed the petite girl pack into her bed, just as he had found her. He exited the room, and began towards the bed chamber of Yamanaka Inoichi.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Yamanaka Inoichi woke from a deep slumber by the feeling of somebody violently shaking his shoulder. Instantly, he grabbed the kunai knife he kept under his pillow, prepared to end the life of his attacker. However, before he could react, the screech of a wind blade reached his ears, and in the same instant his knife had been sliced in half like it was made of butter.

As his eyes became less bleary, he finally made out the face in front him. His heart leapt into his throat, and his breathing came in shallow gasps as fear gripped his heart. Standing before him was none other than Uzumaki Naruto, the former ANBU General.

He got on his knees and bowed to the blond. "Uzumaki-san, I will not resist whatever you do to me, but please spare my family. They are everything to me."

"I know." Through the coldness of the voice, Inoichi's trained ears picked up a hint of…something.

…Remorse?

The blood in his veins ran cold, and an icy fear gripped his heart. Despite himself, Inoichi looked up into the eyes of the boy in front of him. Said boy's eyes were ice cold; no emotion of any kind was betrayed. Had he been imagining things?

No. There was no way he was wrong. He was never wrong. "What do you mean? D-did you do something to my family?"

If possible, the boy's eyes dulled even more, and his face became even more expressionless. What kind of monster had the Third created? "I have placed a seal on your daughter. Her life is now in my hands. Listen to my words, or I will end your daughter."

He could feel his heart stop, and for the moment the boy spoke those words, it was as though time had stopped altogether. "W-what?"

"I will not repeat myself. You heard me, you sniveling wretch. Now get up and be silent. You will do exactly as I say, or your daughter will be little more than a formless pile of slop by the time I'm done with her."

Inoichi steeled himself. He had no choice. He would have to swallow his pride. "What do you want?"

"My request is a simple one. In the event of my capture, you will do everything in your power to mitigate my sentence. When I am sent to the Torture and Interrogation unit, you will personally conduct the interrogation, during which you will set me free." The boy started towards the door.

"That's impossible! I don't even work there anymore!" Why was he yelling? There was no doubt in his mind that the boy could kill him before he even had time to react, so why was he provoking him?

Naruto paused and look over his shoulder back at Inoichi. "Figure something out. If you fail to follow my direction, I will make sure that your daughter's life is cut short by the end of my blade. Do not cross me, Inoichi. The ANBU do not make idle threats."

Naruto left without another word, leaving Inoichi to make sure that the younger blond had done nothing but knock his wife unconscious.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Naruto sighed as he fell back further into the tree that was currently propping him up. He was on the outskirts of Konoha, where extremely tall trees were abundant.

Draping his arm over his knee, he contemplated his situation. It had been about a week since his little run-in with Jiraiya, and he had yet to see any sign of the man. It seemed he was in the clear as far as the toad sage was concerned.

His blackmailing of the Yamanka clan head had gone off without a hitch, as had his clone's simultaneous convincing of his former teammates. Naturally, they were resistant to his request for aid at first. But as he explained his situation, they gradually opened up.

The story gave them was a complete fabrication, of course. He had told them that he had returned because he was in need of money, and intended to settle some debts with some people he knew. They had all bought it, despite the fact that all were ANBU captains. It was pathetic. It was a wonder they had even stayed alive all this time. Clearly, they had neglected their lie detection skills. Still though, he wasn't complaining. Their support, coming in the form of striking in the event of his capture, would no doubt prove invaluable.

Tomorrow he planned to head to Yamashiro's shop to see if his order was ready yet. He was looking forward to finally having proper equipment again; he felt naked without it. Not to mention, he stood absolutely no chance against the people who might actually discover him if he was forced to rely on civilian clothes and his fists.

Closing his eyes, Naruto decided this tree would be a fine substitute for a spring mattress.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Jiraiya sighed as he flipped through the stacks of mission reports and other records of his one time student, a frown marred his face.

Naruto was back in town, and he hadn't the faintest clue why. Their little encounter had set him on edge, though. It obvious that Naruto had thought he had given the sage the slip. Jiraiya allowed himself a small chuckle at the thought. The brat might have been the ANBU general at one time, but he was a fool to think that he could out-spy the old sage. He had been spying on Konoha's behalf for decades before the brat was even born, for god's sake! It had been an admirable effort on the demon container's part, and it probably would have fooled just about anybody else. Unfortunately for Naruto though, Jiraiya was not just anybody.

He did not think Naruto posed a serious threat to Konoha. The boy had little reason to want to harm the village, but by Jiraiya's estimate he just as little reason to return at all. It was unsettling. There was no doubt in his mind the blond was not acting on his own. Somebody _had _to be giving instruction to him, but who?

He had elected not to inform anybody else of his discovery. He was reasonably certain the first thing the elders would do if told would be to launch an all-out manhunt for the boy. Naruto might not have any reason to harm Konoha, but that didn't mean he would hesitate to incur collateral damage if backed into a corner.

He had been reading through the documents for some time now, and something he had noticed was that one name kept coming up. It was often mentioned at least twice, sometimes more, and it had yet to not appear at least once.

"...Itachi Uchiha..." he muttered to himself.

The boy clearly had a great deal of admiration for his captain. Often times in Naruto's mission reports he praised his then-captain's prowess and leadership. In the many investigations into Naruto's desertion Itachi was mentioned for his influence on Naruto's behavior, training, and most significantly his decision to abandon the village. All indications were that the Uchiha was something of a father figure to the young demon vessel, and the single most pivotal character in his life.

Was this somehow connected to his former pupil's return? Were Itachi and Naruto still in contact? So many questions, none of which did Jiraiya have an answer for. However, the strong bond between the two was worth looking into. It wasn't exactly a promising lead, but it was better than nothing.

Rising from his desk, Jiraiya sighed for what felt like the tenth time that minute. "I'm too old for this shit..."


	4. I am Made of You

The Sandaime looked at him with the smile of a kindly grandfather. Flanking the Hokage were two people who looked to be about the same age as the Hokage, though he did not know their names. Standing off to the side was yet another aged man, though this one looked like he already had one foot in his grave. Bandages covered half of his visible body, and in his hand was a cane.

He shifted in his seat across from the group, laying his discomfort bare for the seasoned ninja. Why was he here? Had he done something wrong? He couldn't remember the last time he had been allowed from his house, not that he minded. The Hokage's smile did nothing to ease his worry. There was something…off about it, though he was not sure what.

Silence reigned for a short while. Unbeknownst to Naruto, this was because the aged Hokage was attempting to summon the will to speak, to condemn the small boy in front of him to a life of servitude.

"H-Hokage-sama, not to be rude, but why am I here?"

Despite Naruto's question, the Sandaime still did not speak, smile still in place. Now though, Naruto could see a little deeper through it. He was certain now that the Hokage was hiding something behind it, but he did not know what, an unfortunate consequence of spending almost all of his five years cooped up inside of his house. It had its benefits, such as endless amounts of time to read, but in here it was working against him.

The old woman to the left of the Hokage never took her eyes off of Naruto even as she spoke. "The boy asked you a question, Sarutobi."

The Sandaime's smile became more strained. "Yes, I suppose he did. You see Naruto-kun, we brought you in here because it was decided that you should be enlisted in the ANBU."

Naruto perked up at hearing that. "You mean those guys in the animal masks that I see sometimes?"

The aging Kage nodded. "That's right. I take it that you are interested in joining their ranks."

Naruto nodded vigorously, his face alight with childish excitement, unknowingly driving a stake deeper into the Hokage's chest with each passing second. "You bet I am! The ANBU are the elite of the elite. They're so fast it's like a blur, and everyone respects them. They're the coolest."

"Good, I'm glad that you're excited. However, you still most do a lot of training if you wish to join their ranks. As you said, they are the elite of the elite, and certainly you would agree that a six year old boy with no combat experience does not count as such."

That comment elicited a giggle from Naruto. It was clear to all other occupants of the room that he was now at ease. The Sandaime chose that moment to seal the deal. "So, Naruto-kun, do you wish to begin your training now?"

"You mean like, right now?"

The Hokage nodded.

"Yeah! Let's go train, where do I start?"

"Follow Danzo here," he motioned to the bandaged man, "He'll introduce you to your new quarters, schedule, and teachers, among other things."

Danzo wasted no time heading towards the door, and Naruto hopped off the chair to follow him. However, before he turned the corner after his new teacher, he took one last glance at the Hokage. The aged man was no longer sitting. Instead, he was looking out a window, down at Konoha. Despite the Sandaime's face being most obscured, the expression on his face registered in Naruto's brain.

Sadness.

Feeling a little unsettled now, Naruto dashed down the hallway, towards Danzo. They walked for awhile before Naruto spoke. "Ah, Danzo-san, where-"

"Be silent, boy. I will explain when we arrive at your new dwelling."

Sufficiently cowed, Naruto remained quiet, though he could do nothing about the sinking feeling in his gut.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

He awoke from a deep slumber; the feeling of someone violently shaking his shoulder aggravating his already fragile mood. One could not appreciate the difficulty of waking up before the sun had risen without experiencing it firsthand.

He sat up, looking at the man responsible for waking him up. They stared at each other for a moment, neither saying a word. Despite the lack of verbal communication and their respective masks hiding all facial features, the larger man's reason for waking his teammate was clear. Getting up, Naruto and his teammate traded roles. The man took Naruto's place by the burned-out campfire, and Naruto stalked off to his post, making no noise as he moved.

Leaping into a tree branch a few feet off the ground, Naruto sat down. In an adjacent tree, his captain sat in much the way Naruto did. He was not very familiar with the man, having only recently being entered in to the ANBU. However, even in the short time they had known each other Naruto had recognized the prowess of his captain as being above beyond what even his fellow captains could match. Of course, Naruto had also noticed his captain's peculiar preoccupation with his team, and his tendency to incapacitate rather than kill. It was paradoxical, really, that such a brilliant ninja was also so seemingly unfit to be one.

"Are you cold, Fox?" The voice was cold and impassive.

"No, captain." was his automatic reply. He was lying, of course. It was the dead of winter, and it was only due to Naruto's intense desire not to look weak in front of his superior that he managed to suppress his shivers. They had all been given cloaks to keep warm, but Naruto's had been damaged beyond use in an engagement with some missing-ninja.

There was a shift in the air. Naruto looked up to find that his captain had abandoned his branch in favor of Naruto's. In his hand was his freshly removed cloak, which was held towards the blond in offering. "Take it, Fox. "

"I do not need it, captain."

"Yes, you do. You should know by now that you cannot fool me." Naruto could almost hear the frown in his voice.

"What does it matter whether or not I'm cold?"

"…What?" It seemed he had taken his captain by surprise. How odd.

"I said, what does it matter whether or not I am cold? It is more important to the mission that you, the squad leader, remain in good health. A ninja should always be ready to sacrifice themselves for the good of the mission, and a ninja should never do anything to jeopardize the mission."

There was a pause. Why was it taking his captain so long to respond to a simple question?

"A very wise man once gave me some advice, advice that I have since taken to heart. You would do well to do the same, Fox. He told me that those who break the rules are garbage, but those who abandon their comrades are lower than garbage."

Another, much longer pause as Naruto digested this new information. His captain was saying that the welfare of his comrades was more important than the welfare of the mission? The very idea was preposterous. It flew in the face of everything that he had been taught. Why would anyone think it right to put the wellbeing of a few operatives who knew what they were getting into ahead of the village as a whole?

"Perhaps I am wrong to criticize a man that you hold in such high regard, captain, but those sound like the words of an ideological fool to me. I, and indeed all ninjas, are tools to be used by our superiors, and like all tools, we are useless without someone to utilize us."

"Is that all you think of yourself as? A tool to be used?"

Naruto nodded affirmative.

"Then I have no choice to conclude that _you _are the ideological fool here, Fox."

Naruto quirked his head to the side slightly. "Captain?"

"You say that I am a fool, yet here you are doing nothing more than regurgitating the nonsense that was drilled into your brain. Only a fool could think that emotions could ever be removed, that a ninja could ever become merely a tool."

"With all due respect, captain, nearly all ninjas are tools, whether they like it or not. What is a ninja but the extension of their master's will? Are we not servants of Hokage-sama? What good is a servant who cannot complete the task assigned to him?"

Itachi let loose a soft sigh as he draped the cloak over Naruto's knees. "One day you will realize that there are things in life that are more important than the mission, or the rules, Fox. That day might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, it might not even been in my lifetime, but one day you will understand."

Accepting defeat, Naruto took the cloak. The two did not speak, and soon Naruto took to admiring the stars, as well as the snow covered trees.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

He already regretted his decision. Danzo had led him to an underground complex of some sort. It was so monotonous so as to almost be sickening. The old man had kept a brisk pace down the entirely stone hallway. He seemed to know where he was going. How, Naruto could not fathom. The place seemed utterly devoid of any landmarks.

Eventually they stopped in what seemed like a random portion of the hallway. Danzo suddenly pushed on a part of the stone wall to reveal that it was not a wall at all, but in fact a very well hidden doorway. With a low squeak the door opened, allowing the light from the hallway to illuminate the unlit room.

Naruto followed Danzo as he entered the room, glancing all around with curiosity and dread in equal parts. Certainly, these couldn't be his quarters? The ceiling was barely high enough for the small old man to stand without having to hunch over. The room was totally bare of any décor, with a small dresser and bed being the only furniture in the room.

Though he desperately wanted to ask Danzo if he was serious, he kept quiet. Quite frankly, the man scared him. He had no intention of angering the man in any way.

Danzo turned around after lighting the few candles in the room. Naruto snapped to attention immediately. "This room will serve as your personal quarters until further notice. In the dresser you will find clothes befitting an ANBU operative. On top you will find s map of this complex. You have three hours to memorize it, after which it will be taken away."

"Three hours!" Naruto exclaimed. The time limit was absurd. How could he possibly be expected to memorize a map of this huge place in _three hours_? "That's ri-"

A voice cold as ice cut through any outrage he may have felt. "Did I say you could speak, boy?"

…

"Answer me."

"No, sir."

"You will address me as Danzo-sensei for the duration of your stay. Now, I ask you again. Did I. Say that. You. Could. _Speak_?" Danzo leaned in close, his nose nearly touching Naruto's.

Naruto looked straight down. "N-no, Danzo-sensei."

"That's what I thought. In the future you speak only when asked a question. There will be no complaining, whining, or belly-aching. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Danzo-sensei."

"Good. Now change into your new uniform, and look over the map. After that I suggest you go to bed. It is late, and you will be woken up very early tomorrow."

Naruto nodded. Danzo exited the room, closing the door shut behind him.

Contrary to what Danzo had said to do, Naruto simply sat down on the bed. This was nothing like he thought it would be. He thought maybe he was going to be trained by other ANBU, or something, and in weeks he'd be able to do all kinds of cool ninja moves, like breathe fire or shoot lightening from his finger tips! This was nothing like that at all.

Suddenly he felt very small, and very, very alone. Tears welled up in his eyes. He had no idea where he was, how he got there, or how to get out. He was trapped in this nightmare with no way out. He pulled his knees up to his chest, and finally he began to cry, silently begging someone, _anyone_ to come rescue him. He didn't want to be ninja anymore. He just wanted to leave this place and forget that he had ever come.

He just wanted to go home.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Itachi had single-handedly slaughtered the entire Uchiha Clan. That was the report the only survivor, Itachi's brother gave. Naruto knew the truth, though. The wool that had pulled over the rest of the village's eyes would not be pulled over his. His captain had made sure of that.

Itachi had always been a man of peace, a pacifist at heart. There was no way his captain would have indiscriminately slaughtered his entire clan save but his beloved brother. However, Naruto knew his captain well, and he knew that as much Itachi loved his clan, he loved peace and Konoha even more. He was well aware that the Uchiha clans was, except for Itachi and his brother, was rotten to its core. The clan took care of itself, above all other things; above the Hokage, above the village, above _peace_.

Were the two connected? Maybe, and that was why he was here, walking down the hallway towards the Hokage's office. He _would _have his answers. Disregarding proper etiquette, Naruto pushed the door to the Hokage's office open.

"Naruto?" the aged man called out concernedly.

Naruto walked straight up to the desk where the Hokage sat. "I want answers."

"What do you mean, Naruto?" The old man put on a convincing look of confusion, but Naruto saw right through it.

"Cut the crap, Sarutobi. You know damn well what I'm talking about." His voice was cold in a way it had not been since his captain had rescued him.

"I'm afraid that I truly do not know what it is you wish to know."

"Don't play dumb with me, old man. I know you had a hand in the massacre."

There was a short silence, the aged Hokage apparently weighing his options. "You are mistaken, Naruto. Itachi Uchiha's actions were purely of his own accord."

The anger that had been building inside of him boiled over. Faster than the eye could follow, Naruto drew his katana and pointed it at the Hokage's exposed throat. "I'm tired of this bull, Sarutobi! Tell me everything you know, or so help me god I will end every life in this wretched village!"

The ANBU that had been guarding the Hokage leapt into action; the four of them each aiming their own weapons at a different vital organ, ready to end Naruto's life if he made the slightest move.

"Stand down." Came the stony voice of the Hokage, his eyes looking directly at the leader of the squad.

"But-"

"Owl." The ANBU in question hesitated for another moment before he and his squad retreated to the shadows.

Throughout the altercation, Naruto had not moved. His sword was still drawn, and his eyes still communicated his willingness to utilize act upon his rage. The Hokage ignored this, however. Sighing, the aged man tipped his hat down so as to hide his face.

"Sit. I will tell you everything, but you must understand that it was at Itachi's request that this be kept secret."

OOOOOOOOOOOO

A voice called out from above him. "Give up, traitor." Naruto sighed mentally. He knew this had been coming. It was only natural that Konoha try to recover the single most powerful weapon in their arsenal. It was too bad that they didn't realize that they had no hope of controlling their beast now that it had been let out of its cage.

Many shifts in the air around him occurred consecutively. Looking around he saw six ANBU operatives creating a semicircle in the trees above where he sat. By the patches on sleeves he could tell that they were a part of the 6th squad; the best pure combat squad in the ANBU, as well as one of the most battle-hardened.

Still though, one wouldn't be able to tell based off of their actions, in Naruto's mind. Only an idiot would broadcast their presence to an enemy they knew was far more capable to themselves. He wasn't complaining, of course. Their brash and cocky actions had just made his task that much easier.

He picked himself up off the ground. Slipping into the zone, he silently studied the men surrounding him. They all had the standard issue ANBU body armor and swords. He found it hard to believe that a squad with so little diversity could ever amount to anything, but he still remained alert; there were no slouches in the ANBU.

Without warning, the operative who had previously spoken was in front of him, sword poised to stab straight through his stomach. In the split second he was given, Naruto performed a Substitution jutsu, reappearing directly behind the operative. Even before the smoke of his reentry had begun to dissipate, he created a shadow clone infused with the Clone Explosion jutsu and again used the Substitution jutsu to reappear in the trees behind all of the operatives.

The clone brought up his own sword, preparing to slice the ANBU to ribbons before one of the man's comrade's stab a kunai under the clone's ribs. Without warning the clone exploded in a massive fireball. Not giving the ANBU any chance to recover from the shockwave, Naruto created five more clones and leapt back into the clearing. Each clone engaged a different operative, more to keep them busy than anything else while Naruto dealt with who he suspected was the captain.

Being one of the two ANBU closest the blast, the captain was still trying to recover from the blast, and as such he was not prepared in the least for the flying roundhouse kick that Naruto sent his way. Despite still being dazed, he was not a captain for nothing, and he narrowly ducked in time for the kick to graze only the tips of his long hair. He quickly used a substitution to put some distance between himself and Naruto and flew through the hand seals for a Grand Fireball.

Just as the captain released the technique, Naruto loosed a supercharged Great Breakthrough. Such was the strength of the jutsu that the trees in front of Naruto were smashed to bits, and the captain's own jutsu was dissipated with laughable ease. The captain himself had no time to dodge the gale force winds, and was launched several feet from the concussive force.

Naruto was the on the operative before he could even pick himself up off the ground. He slammed his boot into the captain's chest with enough force to cause a small indentation in the ground. Immediately afterwards he straddled the captains chest and began to lay punch after punch into the captains face. The flimsy mask didn't last long, and it soon broke in two. Even so, Naruto did not let up his assault, and soon the man was unconscious.

A sudden influx of memories from one of his clones combined with a honed battle sense allowed Naruto to anticipate the ANBU charging directly behind him at high speed. In seconds the operative was upon him, and Naruto leapt into action. Using his hands on the downed captain's chest as a base he lifted his legs into the air and struck out at the unsuspecting man's face.

There was a satisfying sound as Naruto's foot and the operative's face collided. Not giving the man a chance to recover from his dazed stumble backwards, Naruto slammed a chakra charged uppercut straight into the ANBU's gut, the chakra in his fist passing straight through the body armor. The man doubled over in pain, and Naruto quickly clasped down on the back of the man's neck and slammed his knee into the mask, knocking the man unconscious almost instantaneously.

Having dealt with both enemies he took a short moment to observe the rest of the battlefield. His clones had kept the four other ANBU occupied and separated, none of them had any chance of linking up with the others, and none seemed aware of the real Naruto observing them.

The original unknown – the captain – had been dealt with; it was time end this little debacle. He cast an illusion over the remainder of the squad, and they soon passed out. There was no chance of any of them being able to break out of the jutsu now that their captain was incapacitated.

He sighed. He still had no idea how any single unit of ANBU could have possibly expected to have prevail against him. He swore the standards for ninja graduates got a little lower each year. He wasn't complaining though, the Third's less than rigorous screening process had only aided his escape.

He leapt into the trees and continued along his original course at a dizzying pace. He wasn't quite sure where he was going or what he was going to do, but did know that anywhere was better than Konoha.


End file.
